“Home is any four walls that enclose the right person”
Helen Rowland

Who is Mohamed Ezzat...? He is the owner of the United Designers Foundation. This organization consists of four companies that operate together or separately to serve distinguished projects in Egypt. The first company is specialized in engineering design, the second, is specialized in décor, the third, is specialized in supplying, installation and implementation of steel structures, and the forth company is involved in real estate marketing.

Mohamed Ezzat is a young ambitious workaholic, he has a very inimitable way of thinking. He works as an assistant professor at the faculty of engineering after obtaining his master degree in structural engineering; Ain Shames University and he is now working to get his PhD.

His motto is: “Design is people, design is life”.

One day while I was talking with him, he told me about the idea of the “Four Walls”, and I was excited enough that I couldn’t help but ask him to publish it in DG magazine so that the people would get a closer look at the idea behind the “Four Walls”!

What is the idea of “The Four Walls”...?
Just look around you and you will notice them! They are every where! The Four walls are the walls of each room you are in, whether you are in your bedroom, your office, your house or even in your garage. The idea is how a person can be very much connected and attached to his place and to his very special space in a room; I mean him and the place, can grow for a better future. Still didn’t get it, did you? Let me give you an example or two. The great director “Youssef Chahine” started his dream of directing in a small apartment at 35 Champollion Street – Downtown. His office in this apartment was the center of his life. As time went by, the young directors dream grew and there weren’t enough rooms in that apartment. So, he had to look for some place bigger, but since he was so attached to his place, eventually he managed to possess the whole building, and transformed it to the biggest production company in Egypt; “ World Movies Egypt” Youssef Chahine.

Steve Jobs’s garage is another fine example in which the legacy of the Apple was born. Located in Silicon Valley, the modest house was the place where Jobs and his friend Wozniak, along with others, churned out the very first Apple computers. Built in 1952, the 61-year-old house is not only the birthplace of Apple, but also the childhood home of Jobs, from a garage to the world’s most valuable company.

The idea is how to feel satisfied of where you are and how to blend in with your four walls and feel at home. Home is not necessary a house, it’s your comfort zone; it can be your office, your bedroom or even your favorite table in the café.

Where did this idea come from...?
“It all came to me when I was making the design for a new cosmetic surgery and laser hospital”. Mohamed said. It was my first time to design a building that serves beauty. I had to think of creating a place in which people would feel easily and quickly content and relaxed once they step in. I know beauty has no standard. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And when it comes to colors, not everyone will prefer the same color.

Therefore I thought of the two most desirable colors that probably everyone would agree with. The two colors of heaven; white and green. White symbolizes peace and tranquility, and green is the color of everything that has life, beauty and youth.

You can’t imagine the peoples reaction towards the first room we started with in the hospital as a sample; the room has an atmosphere of serenity, calmness and comfort. What else could a patient ask for? Now we set the perfect place, the perfect four walls, and now one has no escape but to fall in love with it, then the purpose is accomplished.

How can design and architecture serve the “The Four Walls”
idea...?
The fundamental task of architecture is to lighten the stresses of life, to maximize mans energies and to permit him to focus upon these activities which are the essence of human existence. Work comfort is very closely related to environment with which man can live and work in optimum comfort and efficiency. In order to do so, a new international trend is known now in the world of construction and that’s called “Psychological Architecture” or “Architectural Psychology”. It can be described as a branch of environmental or ecological psychology.

This deals with the psychological processes of the interaction between man and his environment. Everyone perceives the nature and the space around him according to his psychological status. Therefore, human psychology is directly related with architecture. Appropriate use of various architectural components has the capacity of enlightening the atmosphere whereas inappropriate use does the opposite.

What happens when psychology meets architecture?
“Imagine how much more effective the design process would be if you knew what your clients were really thinking? What colors inspire them? How do they interact with their physical environments? How does sunlight make them feel? “Mohamed said. We should know how different spaces influence cognition. Is there an ideal kind of architectural structure for different kinds of thinking? For example, in 2009 the psychologists, at the University of British Columbia made an experiment as they were interested in looking at how the colors of interior walls influence the imagination. They recruited six hundred subjects, most of them undergraduates, and had them perform a variety of basic cognitive tests displayed against red, blue or neutral colored background. The differences were striking. When people took tests in the red condition – they were much better at skills that required accuracy and attention to detail, such as catching spelling mistakes or keeping random numbers in short-term memory. According to the scientists, this is because people automatically associate red with danger, which makes them more alert and aware. While people in the blue group performed worse on short-term memory tasks, they did far better on those requiring some imagination: the color of a wall doubled our imagination. According to the scientists, the color blue automatically triggers associations with the sky and ocean. We think about expansive horizons and diffuse light, sandy beaches and lazy summer days. This sort of mental relaxation makes it easier for us to daydream and think; we’re less focused on what’s right in front of us and more aware of the possibilities simmering in our imagination. The importance of the psychological architecture was also known years before we all were born, e.g. historically, when the Emperor Justinian wanted an architect to design the church of Haggia Sophia (Divine Wisdom) in Istanbul, Turkey, which had transformed into a mosque later, he thought of a structure that would surpass anything built before, he turned to two professors of architects,” Isidoros” and “Anthemios, they both had a strong understanding of Platonic philosophy, psychology and mathematics. The result was an outstanding structure and a masterpiece work of art.

Do you have future plans that serve the idea of “The Four Walls” and how to get the best out of them...?
“We are applying the concept of the “psychological architecture” in all our coming projects. The comfort and the happiness of all our clients is our company’s main target”. Mohamed added. The four companies within the “The United Designers Foundation” have one mission which is to present a design that suits the idea of the ‘Four Walls” and create a life out of them that can live as long as the dream goes on.

What are your future dreams...?
Well, we are opening new offices of our company in Kuwait, Qatar and hopefully we will launch new ones in Europe soon, which will take our vision to a higher level and will definitely open new horizons worldwide.

Also we are working on some new projects here in Egypt; a compound in Sharm El Sheikh and “The New Zamalek” project in the 6th of October city.

I have another dream of transforming the idea of “The Four Walls” to a movie in which a good director can show the psychological side of certain people and how each one of them create his future and follow his dreams starting from whatever place he feels at home in.

As long as we live, we will always need the four walls, and as much as we are different our choices will always be diverse. We have different tastes and perceptions. That’s beauty! You will look around and enjoy the different styles of designs, just like nature where everything is full of colors, rich in creation and great in differences.